What a good pony! It took about 20 minutes to get him off my inside leg as he was very determined to lean on it to the left. But once I got him off it he was amazing. I didn't want to get off. If I opened my outside rein more he'd change his bend to follow and fill it up. I'd established stuff to the left first and then went to the right by the bunny tree and after one or two protests he completely ignored it. He was light in the bridle, up and not diving, balanced, collected, etc :).
We did some figure-8's with 20 and 10m circles and ended with a little bit of leg yielding just to see how it'd go. The last 10-15 minutes I don't think he came off the aids more than once or twice and opening my outside rein and putting my inside leg on was enough to get him back on them in a stride or two. I think he's figuring out what we want and deciding it's not going to kill him to give it to us. I'm really happy with how he (and I ;)) did today. Back out tomorrow so hopefully it will go equally well (or maybe even better!). I'm going to have to start thinking up fun exercises again now that there's time to do stuff after getting him correct. If it doesn't rain I'll try to drag my husband out for pictures.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Skate is a Mare trapped in a Geldings body
Yep - he is like riding a mare. He is so damn sensitive. My instructor thinks he's more like riding a stallion, but I've never ridden a stallion so I can't compare!
Everything I do has the potential to get him worried and fussy. It doesn't matter if I do it correctly according to 'the books', if he doesn't like it that way, its wrong. I wondered aloud in my lesson last week whether riding Skate is actually ruining me for riding other horses b/c he's so particular about how he wants things done that I'm changing everything I know. She thinks he's just teaching me how to be tactful and ride the horse I'm given. I hope she's right.
We spent a long time during my lesson on spiraling in at the trot, transitioning to a walk, and then asking for a turn on the forehand. Holy hell - you'd think I was asking Skate to suddenly do a friggin levade or something, he got so bent out of shape at this request. It was just one of those days where our frustrations overlapped until I wanted to either cry or kill him. I did finally figure out that some days my aids have to be whisper light or he'll have a meltdown. This was one of those days. He was so angry he was beginning to back up and hop up and down - and I had totally let go of my reins at this point trying to prove to him he had a door to go through! I think he just did NOT want my leg on him. I kept trying (in between go forward breaks) and finally got a semblance of what I wanted, so we moved on to leg yielding, which he likes as it's forward. He likes forward lateral, not slow lateral. I think he just feels trapped.
Intermission: Last weekend I went to Lexington Ky for Rolex. It rocked. I spent too much money - was so excited to buy a pair of leather protection boots in dressagey lookin white! Guess what? - I get to the barn to try them and I have 3 mediums and 1 large. DAMNIT. Excitement killed.
My last ride I worked on basic walking. Skate hates walking unless its on a free rein. Like I said before, I think he feels trapped. How else do you get a horse to accept contact at the walk other than just doing it? I work hard to keep my contact light and even and to walk with my seatbones. If I tense, even the slightest, he trots (same with canter, if I don't follow his hind legs with my hips perfectly, he trots). We worked on turning off the outside aids, which he does well in one direction and counterbends in the other, as expected. I played with not actually using direct leg aids, but just lengthening the inside leg down and it helped with the counterbending as he was more apt to bend around the lengthened leg and follow the direction of my hips as the turning cue. At first, I just got a lot of pissy pony and trotting. After a while, he seemed to chill out and listen to my seat. The less aids I give, the better. I think I am a fairly quiet rider, but I'm obviously not quiet enough for Skate.
As always, more work needed.
Everything I do has the potential to get him worried and fussy. It doesn't matter if I do it correctly according to 'the books', if he doesn't like it that way, its wrong. I wondered aloud in my lesson last week whether riding Skate is actually ruining me for riding other horses b/c he's so particular about how he wants things done that I'm changing everything I know. She thinks he's just teaching me how to be tactful and ride the horse I'm given. I hope she's right.
We spent a long time during my lesson on spiraling in at the trot, transitioning to a walk, and then asking for a turn on the forehand. Holy hell - you'd think I was asking Skate to suddenly do a friggin levade or something, he got so bent out of shape at this request. It was just one of those days where our frustrations overlapped until I wanted to either cry or kill him. I did finally figure out that some days my aids have to be whisper light or he'll have a meltdown. This was one of those days. He was so angry he was beginning to back up and hop up and down - and I had totally let go of my reins at this point trying to prove to him he had a door to go through! I think he just did NOT want my leg on him. I kept trying (in between go forward breaks) and finally got a semblance of what I wanted, so we moved on to leg yielding, which he likes as it's forward. He likes forward lateral, not slow lateral. I think he just feels trapped.
Intermission: Last weekend I went to Lexington Ky for Rolex. It rocked. I spent too much money - was so excited to buy a pair of leather protection boots in dressagey lookin white! Guess what? - I get to the barn to try them and I have 3 mediums and 1 large. DAMNIT. Excitement killed.
My last ride I worked on basic walking. Skate hates walking unless its on a free rein. Like I said before, I think he feels trapped. How else do you get a horse to accept contact at the walk other than just doing it? I work hard to keep my contact light and even and to walk with my seatbones. If I tense, even the slightest, he trots (same with canter, if I don't follow his hind legs with my hips perfectly, he trots). We worked on turning off the outside aids, which he does well in one direction and counterbends in the other, as expected. I played with not actually using direct leg aids, but just lengthening the inside leg down and it helped with the counterbending as he was more apt to bend around the lengthened leg and follow the direction of my hips as the turning cue. At first, I just got a lot of pissy pony and trotting. After a while, he seemed to chill out and listen to my seat. The less aids I give, the better. I think I am a fairly quiet rider, but I'm obviously not quiet enough for Skate.
As always, more work needed.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Another good attempt!
Pro was quite good tonight, considering that I'm still fumbling around with getting my aids correct. I don't remember who it was that ever taught me (or allowed me!) to hang on the inside rein while turning, but I cursed them a lot tonight! It's an insanely hard habit to break. And it's worse made worse because Pro wants me to hang on the inside rein so he can have an excuse to engage me in a pulling game.
He was still better going right than going left, although he was better to the left near the end of the ride. At one point while trotting, I did everything right at the same time (the stars aligned!) and he magically turned into super pony!! So powerful! :) Whenever he started to dive, I realized my hands also dropped as well. It was a good reminder to keep them up up up and pushed forward, with the thumbs on *top* of my hands.
I'm excited to see how much progress we've made by Friday, which is our next lesson with Gayle. :)
He was still better going right than going left, although he was better to the left near the end of the ride. At one point while trotting, I did everything right at the same time (the stars aligned!) and he magically turned into super pony!! So powerful! :) Whenever he started to dive, I realized my hands also dropped as well. It was a good reminder to keep them up up up and pushed forward, with the thumbs on *top* of my hands.
I'm excited to see how much progress we've made by Friday, which is our next lesson with Gayle. :)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
God damn po... Oh, I get it!
A two-parter tonight as there were pictures to get off my camera from Sunday!
Sunday Kate and I met up for her to give me a mini-version of her lesson of don'ts. She got on first to demonstrate. After about 10-15 minutes Pro stopped walking around counter-bent and was looking pretty good. When he does this correctly he breaks at the poll and tracks up easier and looks soft and forward. Unfortunately most of my pictures he's over-flexing or broke at the 3rd vertebrae (Kate didn't stay on him long once he was going correctly). But here's a fuzzy version to show how he looks when he's correct!
Then I got on and Kate yelled at me for about 30 minutes ;). Don't cross my rein over (and here I see why she got sucked into arguing with Gayle for awhile. The yelling started if my outside hand even got over his outside shoulder, well before it got to the crest). Trying to force my outside hand out and my inside hand forward to give felt like trying to ride with my feet. And Pro, of course, was all too happy to say "Oh, counter-bend? Ok, I can do that!" and torque his body to the outside or drop his head when my hands went down. I avoided beating Kate with the dressage whip, Pro avoided a melt-down from the confusing signals, and eventually we got a pretty nice trot. I brought him down to the walk intending to just reinforce the idea at the walk and get off and the turd turned back into a giraffe. I admit it, I bailed at that point. I'd had a very stressful week the week before and couldn't handle any more. Kate cheered me up and then Pro got a bath while I convinced myself I didn't hate him. He was super cute for his bath though, he liked the spa treatment, especially the mane massage.
Tuesdays tend to be my busiest days at work so I wasn't too sure about trying this whole thing out again tonight on my own, but I promised Kate to give it a try so off we went. It felt a little bit less like riding with my feet, but not much. Then the light bulbs started going off. Another "don't" for the list - DON'T tense your outside leg while trying to get him off your inside leg. That one made sense, if I tensed my outside leg his spine didn't have room to bend! Kate's talk of shifting your inside seat bone to the outside made more sense tonight, too. I sort of scooched the inside butt cheek towards the outside and that was a subtle enough cue that if he wasn't intentionally being dumb and I didn't have my outside leg braced he'd get off my inside leg. And then the major light bulb went off and I figured out the "why" of the outside rein being pulled out. It's to give him room to bend! So it's not so much pull the outside rein out like we'd been doing to the inside to get him to give his nose, but more of a holding the outside rein passively out so that he's not being held in this rectangle while I'm asking him to bend.
I vaguely remember someone teaching me that when a horse is correctly bent their neck should fill up the outside rein, but I always just figured that meant they'd magically bend into the rein. But just like with my outside leg I have to make the outside a pleasant place that he wants to go. If my outside hand is even over his shoulder than it's blocking the outside shoulder from going out and pushes him onto my inside leg. No wonder he's walking around counter-bent, I'm TELLING him to counter-bend with my old cues! After I figured that out Pro gave a big sigh and said "finally" and gave me an awesome ride. Before all the lights going off I was getting a quarter circle or if I was lucky a half circle of him going correct before I'd screw up a piece and it'd fall apart. After figuring out what was going on we walked and trotted in both directions with only momentary lapses (probably due to me dropping my hands as they typically resulted in him curling rather than staying up in the bridle).
I was so proud of Pro. Like everything in dressage, once I got out of the horse's way everything became very easy. I didn't get to play around with the awesomeness for very long because we were supposed to have company over at 7:30, but I think I've got it figured out enough that I can recreate it on Saturday. Now I wish I hadn't agreed to swap riding times with Kate ;). I want to see if I can do it again!
Sunday Kate and I met up for her to give me a mini-version of her lesson of don'ts. She got on first to demonstrate. After about 10-15 minutes Pro stopped walking around counter-bent and was looking pretty good. When he does this correctly he breaks at the poll and tracks up easier and looks soft and forward. Unfortunately most of my pictures he's over-flexing or broke at the 3rd vertebrae (Kate didn't stay on him long once he was going correctly). But here's a fuzzy version to show how he looks when he's correct!
Then I got on and Kate yelled at me for about 30 minutes ;). Don't cross my rein over (and here I see why she got sucked into arguing with Gayle for awhile. The yelling started if my outside hand even got over his outside shoulder, well before it got to the crest). Trying to force my outside hand out and my inside hand forward to give felt like trying to ride with my feet. And Pro, of course, was all too happy to say "Oh, counter-bend? Ok, I can do that!" and torque his body to the outside or drop his head when my hands went down. I avoided beating Kate with the dressage whip, Pro avoided a melt-down from the confusing signals, and eventually we got a pretty nice trot. I brought him down to the walk intending to just reinforce the idea at the walk and get off and the turd turned back into a giraffe. I admit it, I bailed at that point. I'd had a very stressful week the week before and couldn't handle any more. Kate cheered me up and then Pro got a bath while I convinced myself I didn't hate him. He was super cute for his bath though, he liked the spa treatment, especially the mane massage.
Tuesdays tend to be my busiest days at work so I wasn't too sure about trying this whole thing out again tonight on my own, but I promised Kate to give it a try so off we went. It felt a little bit less like riding with my feet, but not much. Then the light bulbs started going off. Another "don't" for the list - DON'T tense your outside leg while trying to get him off your inside leg. That one made sense, if I tensed my outside leg his spine didn't have room to bend! Kate's talk of shifting your inside seat bone to the outside made more sense tonight, too. I sort of scooched the inside butt cheek towards the outside and that was a subtle enough cue that if he wasn't intentionally being dumb and I didn't have my outside leg braced he'd get off my inside leg. And then the major light bulb went off and I figured out the "why" of the outside rein being pulled out. It's to give him room to bend! So it's not so much pull the outside rein out like we'd been doing to the inside to get him to give his nose, but more of a holding the outside rein passively out so that he's not being held in this rectangle while I'm asking him to bend.
I vaguely remember someone teaching me that when a horse is correctly bent their neck should fill up the outside rein, but I always just figured that meant they'd magically bend into the rein. But just like with my outside leg I have to make the outside a pleasant place that he wants to go. If my outside hand is even over his shoulder than it's blocking the outside shoulder from going out and pushes him onto my inside leg. No wonder he's walking around counter-bent, I'm TELLING him to counter-bend with my old cues! After I figured that out Pro gave a big sigh and said "finally" and gave me an awesome ride. Before all the lights going off I was getting a quarter circle or if I was lucky a half circle of him going correct before I'd screw up a piece and it'd fall apart. After figuring out what was going on we walked and trotted in both directions with only momentary lapses (probably due to me dropping my hands as they typically resulted in him curling rather than staying up in the bridle).
I was so proud of Pro. Like everything in dressage, once I got out of the horse's way everything became very easy. I didn't get to play around with the awesomeness for very long because we were supposed to have company over at 7:30, but I think I've got it figured out enough that I can recreate it on Saturday. Now I wish I hadn't agreed to swap riding times with Kate ;). I want to see if I can do it again!
Being my own Gayle
...is exactly what I tried to do in yesterday's ride. Now that I've had time to think through my lesson last Friday, it makes sense to me logically. However, my body vehemently disagrees and has fought me every step of the way. I realized that I've been riding the wrong way for 16 years...and that's no easy thing to erase. Years and years of ingrained muscle memory! Trying to override that and make new habits is definitely difficult. So I had to "be my own Gayle" and just keep repeating instructions over and over and over...
So I tried to be super-conscious of what my hands were doing at all times. I kept having to repeat "outside out", meaning bringing my outside hand OUT and away from his neck, especially while turning. Just try it...go ahead. It's insanely hard! And I kept having to repeat "give inside" to get my stupid inside hand to stop pulling back and engaging in the pulling game. And remember to bump him with my inside leg to stop him from leaning on it, which he desperately wanted to do when I opened my outside hand out and gave my inside rein forward. We had some interesting moments...counter-bending and scurrying around like a crab.
Interestingly, he was much better going right. I'm not quite sure if that's him or me, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's me doing something wrong to the left. We had much more giraffe-face going left. Which made my hands go down. Or perhaps my hands going down made his head go up (haha, most likely). Actually they seem to be related so that it's a bad cycle of hands down, head up, hands down more, head up...and then my brain kicks in and puts my hands back up. A few times he didn't just put his head up because he was unhappy that I didn't let the bit drop in his mouth (which happens when I put my hands down where he likes them), but he put his head WAY up to protest. Which means I had to put my hands WAY up until he realized I'm not going to let the bit drop. And around and around we went like that...I'm sure Big Horse's owner thought we were crazy. Until he gave up and put his head down, and I put my hands back into the normal-up-ness.
Though we never made it out of the walk, I was pleased with our work to the right at the walk. He was figuring out that when I open my outside hand out, give my inside rein, and apply my outside leg aids (and move my inside seatbone toward the outside), that he's supposed to turn. Without putting his head up. I'm hoping that more practice this week will make us ready for Friday's lesson. :)
So I tried to be super-conscious of what my hands were doing at all times. I kept having to repeat "outside out", meaning bringing my outside hand OUT and away from his neck, especially while turning. Just try it...go ahead. It's insanely hard! And I kept having to repeat "give inside" to get my stupid inside hand to stop pulling back and engaging in the pulling game. And remember to bump him with my inside leg to stop him from leaning on it, which he desperately wanted to do when I opened my outside hand out and gave my inside rein forward. We had some interesting moments...counter-bending and scurrying around like a crab.
Interestingly, he was much better going right. I'm not quite sure if that's him or me, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's me doing something wrong to the left. We had much more giraffe-face going left. Which made my hands go down. Or perhaps my hands going down made his head go up (haha, most likely). Actually they seem to be related so that it's a bad cycle of hands down, head up, hands down more, head up...and then my brain kicks in and puts my hands back up. A few times he didn't just put his head up because he was unhappy that I didn't let the bit drop in his mouth (which happens when I put my hands down where he likes them), but he put his head WAY up to protest. Which means I had to put my hands WAY up until he realized I'm not going to let the bit drop. And around and around we went like that...I'm sure Big Horse's owner thought we were crazy. Until he gave up and put his head down, and I put my hands back into the normal-up-ness.
Though we never made it out of the walk, I was pleased with our work to the right at the walk. He was figuring out that when I open my outside hand out, give my inside rein, and apply my outside leg aids (and move my inside seatbone toward the outside), that he's supposed to turn. Without putting his head up. I'm hoping that more practice this week will make us ready for Friday's lesson. :)
Monday, April 27, 2009
First Trail Ride
I wish I had gotten pictures of Andy and I this weekend but I was out with a consignment horse and a student. The pictures I did get were of them with my cell phone. I was pretty impressed with the pictures my camera did take though.
I didn't realize that I haven't taken Andy on a trail ride before until we were getting ready to leave the property. Andy did exactly what I expected him to do. Ride true, straight, and spook in place at the DUMBEST things. HAHA It was a lot of fun and entertaining.
We cut across the road in front of the barn and went through a large field. This put us into a neighborhood and we went exploring down some of the roads that aren't developed yet. Andy spooked at one of the curbs....it looked like all the other curbs we had gone past but he decided to flinch really hard and snort. Jyll and I laughed and kept going.
Down one of the wooded roads he spooked at a log, we kept going. He got a little crooked here and we took the time to fix it. We went through another field, down beside the busy road( WAY off on the side), and then through another neighborhood. There is a lot of construction so we were careful where we stepped and in one place the ground wasn't packed and poor Andy sunk about 1' and he didn't flinch...just pulled right out of it.
We went down through another neighborhood(don't have ANY wooded trails around) and then through another 20 acre field. I would have LOVED to have gone out and loped circles but didn't want to leave the student standing on the horse she didn't know that well. I do plan on going back though!
I realized what a bad mom I was when we went to cross the road to head back to the barn. This is the first horse I have ever had with sliders on and when we stepped out onto the road his hind foot stepped on the paint, which is a little more slick, and his foot slid, not much and he didn't seem concerned but I realized how bad it could be.
I need to do some research but I'm wondering if I should trail ride him at all.....is it extra dangerous? Is it harder on him? Is it fair??
Friday, April 24, 2009
HELP!! I need a conscience!!
I was scanning craigslist today like I do everyday and I came across an interesting ad for a horse. This is a CURLY MUSTANG mare. She is coming 3 and has been ridden about 10 times. The lady is asking $500 for her....and that is negotiable.
Here is what I see:
Good conformation for a mustang
Looks sweet
Sensible under saddle
CURLY!!(always wanted one!)
kinda looks like Andy.
Be honest. What do you see in her conformation....could you see someone buying a curly...even if it was a mustang? I have nothing against them but sometimes trying to sell them is like trying to sell and arab at an AQHA show.
Here is what I see:
Good conformation for a mustang
Looks sweet
Sensible under saddle
CURLY!!(always wanted one!)
kinda looks like Andy.
Be honest. What do you see in her conformation....could you see someone buying a curly...even if it was a mustang? I have nothing against them but sometimes trying to sell them is like trying to sell and arab at an AQHA show.
Back to boot camp
Let's just say that I was quite pleased when I untacked today after my lesson and had to thoroughly hose off Pro. For once (in a long time), he wasn't sweaty because he misbehaved for an hour, but sweaty because he was thoroughly using himself.
Okay, list of things I'm not allowed to do anymore...
1) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO CROSS MY OUTSIDE HAND OVER HIS WITHERS. Gayle says the horse has full permission to ignore you when you cross your outside hand over the withers. And while turning in a circle, especially a small one, your outside hand should open OUT, not even stay neutral. My brain understands a lot about riding logically, and can usually process what an instructor says during a lesson, but I have atrocious brain-body coordination and spent a large part of the lesson fumbling with this.
2) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DROP MY HANDS. Bad things happen when I do. It moves the bit into a weird position. And according to Gayle, it really screws you over when you graduate to a double bridle.
3) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO LET PRO LEAN ON MY LEG, ESPECIALLY MY INSIDE LEG. We had some issues with this. Gayle insisted that Pro definitely knew he was not allowed, since no Western rider would've ever let him lean on their leg. So she took over my inside rein from the ground and used her hand as my inside leg to INSIST that he move over. He finally got it, though every time I tried to turn him in a small circle and not cross my outside hand over his withers he would bow out in a counter-bend and lean on my inside leg. We finally figured it out, but it wasn't easy.
4) I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED TO BOOT HIM UNLESS NECESSARY. After so much practice with literally kicking his ass, I am no longer allowed to "yell" at him unless it's for disciplinary reasons. I have to ask nicely first (and it was a bit hard to remember how to ask nicely) by giving a light tap (NOT squeeze) with my leg, then a slightly louder tap. THEN a louder tap. She said that Pro, being Arab, wants to have things light and sensitive. But it's his choice...if he chooses to be bad, I can be loud. If he chooses to be sweet, I can be soft.
5) I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED TO USE MY INSIDE REIN, UNDER THE PENALTY OF DEATH. Haha, pretty much! ;) Unless absolutely necessary, I am to resist the urge to use it, and I am to GIVE it.
And so followed a cycle of attempts at turning him off my outside aids while keeping my outside rein opening OUT instead of over his withers, using my inside leg to bend him and keep him from leaning on it, and giving forward with the inside rein. It was insanely hard but eventually we got it all coordinated together and worked for awhile with a delightfully powerful trot! Gayle was so pleased with how much he was bending his hocks underneath himself and using that butt of his. I only wish I could've had pictures!
Okay, list of things I'm not allowed to do anymore...
1) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO CROSS MY OUTSIDE HAND OVER HIS WITHERS. Gayle says the horse has full permission to ignore you when you cross your outside hand over the withers. And while turning in a circle, especially a small one, your outside hand should open OUT, not even stay neutral. My brain understands a lot about riding logically, and can usually process what an instructor says during a lesson, but I have atrocious brain-body coordination and spent a large part of the lesson fumbling with this.
2) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO DROP MY HANDS. Bad things happen when I do. It moves the bit into a weird position. And according to Gayle, it really screws you over when you graduate to a double bridle.
3) I AM NOT ALLOWED TO LET PRO LEAN ON MY LEG, ESPECIALLY MY INSIDE LEG. We had some issues with this. Gayle insisted that Pro definitely knew he was not allowed, since no Western rider would've ever let him lean on their leg. So she took over my inside rein from the ground and used her hand as my inside leg to INSIST that he move over. He finally got it, though every time I tried to turn him in a small circle and not cross my outside hand over his withers he would bow out in a counter-bend and lean on my inside leg. We finally figured it out, but it wasn't easy.
4) I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED TO BOOT HIM UNLESS NECESSARY. After so much practice with literally kicking his ass, I am no longer allowed to "yell" at him unless it's for disciplinary reasons. I have to ask nicely first (and it was a bit hard to remember how to ask nicely) by giving a light tap (NOT squeeze) with my leg, then a slightly louder tap. THEN a louder tap. She said that Pro, being Arab, wants to have things light and sensitive. But it's his choice...if he chooses to be bad, I can be loud. If he chooses to be sweet, I can be soft.
5) I AM NO LONGER ALLOWED TO USE MY INSIDE REIN, UNDER THE PENALTY OF DEATH. Haha, pretty much! ;) Unless absolutely necessary, I am to resist the urge to use it, and I am to GIVE it.
And so followed a cycle of attempts at turning him off my outside aids while keeping my outside rein opening OUT instead of over his withers, using my inside leg to bend him and keep him from leaning on it, and giving forward with the inside rein. It was insanely hard but eventually we got it all coordinated together and worked for awhile with a delightfully powerful trot! Gayle was so pleased with how much he was bending his hocks underneath himself and using that butt of his. I only wish I could've had pictures!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Too much excitement for me!
Just a quick update about the weekend ride. Between the weather and having house guest-obligations, I didn't ride at all last week until Saturday. It was... interesting...
When I got to the barn, the barn owner was doing some small, well-controlled burns of old hay piles, etc. I was half-expecting the smoke to freak Tango out, but he ignored it as we were tacking up and warming up in the round pen. Good boy. We started off with some nice trot work in both directions, no complaints. Even got some canter work in (not especially pretty, but at least relaxed and more or less balanced).
That all changed when fire trucks came down the barn driveway! One of the burn piles had edged a little too close to the forest and some of the underbrush caught fire, so out came the fire engines. Well, between the sirens and the smoke, I completely lost Tango's attention. He wasn't spooky or scared, but he was very distracted and looky. (I was actually very impressed by his composure, I should say.) I tried working through it for another 10 minutes and managed to keep his focus on me by doing some transitions, but one particularly off-balance trot-to-canter transition resulted in a couple small bucks as he tried to re-balance himself, and once that happened the canter became a lost cause. So I switched gears and focused on re-establishing a calm balanced trot and called it a day once we got it in both directions.
Let's hope tomorrow's ride is less eventful!
When I got to the barn, the barn owner was doing some small, well-controlled burns of old hay piles, etc. I was half-expecting the smoke to freak Tango out, but he ignored it as we were tacking up and warming up in the round pen. Good boy. We started off with some nice trot work in both directions, no complaints. Even got some canter work in (not especially pretty, but at least relaxed and more or less balanced).
That all changed when fire trucks came down the barn driveway! One of the burn piles had edged a little too close to the forest and some of the underbrush caught fire, so out came the fire engines. Well, between the sirens and the smoke, I completely lost Tango's attention. He wasn't spooky or scared, but he was very distracted and looky. (I was actually very impressed by his composure, I should say.) I tried working through it for another 10 minutes and managed to keep his focus on me by doing some transitions, but one particularly off-balance trot-to-canter transition resulted in a couple small bucks as he tried to re-balance himself, and once that happened the canter became a lost cause. So I switched gears and focused on re-establishing a calm balanced trot and called it a day once we got it in both directions.
Let's hope tomorrow's ride is less eventful!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Laying 11s
Whew what a weekend. I am just going to combine everything into one post.
Saturday: One of the young girls at the barn owns a rotten paint pony. Last week she bathed all 4 of my horses and hand grazed them each for 30 minutes or so. I told her that she earned a lesson so we met at the barn around lunch time.
After I got her going I grabbed Andy. I was helping her bridle her ear shy pony so I had the bridle over the horn and my rope halter on Andy. I stayed on the ground to watch her first ride with a bit on this pony and decided that Andy could use some groundwork. He is very well behaved but I need to make sure he moves the way I want on the ground and can show what I am looking for at the clinic in June.
He seemed eager to try new things and while I found a few sticky places all in all he did GREAT. He had a super relaxed posture when we were done. I think I'm going to have to start doing this a few times a week before we ride. I think he had fun.
I did learn that he is MUCH more balanced than I thought. He can canter a 25' circle without pulling on the leadrope!! That is balance.
When I got on him and started showing my student what I wanted her to work on with her pony and that got Andy nice and loose. We worked on it, mostly at the walk for about 20 minutes before I turned her loose to do her own thing. Andy and I started loping our circles. It was the first time we had REALLY REAL circles. They weren't disfigured or scary, they were nice, round, and he was staying upright. Its amazing how you don't realize how bad it was until you feel how good it can be.
When we came off our last circle to the left I asked for a stop. He really drove his hind end down and for the first time EVER I got 11s out of him. Granted it was only about 2.5' but it was something. We did a rollback and loped our right circles and got another 2' slide. I was in HEAVEN. I can't wait to get him out Monday (today) and see how our circles look.
Sunday:
I got up early to drive to Advance, NC where I worked with a 18hh percheron mare. Her owner had her in training to be a driving horse but wasn't happy that they had to drug/stock or table the mare every time they went to trim her feet. She wanted me to come out and teach the mare to calmly pick up her feet and stand for the farrier. I told her to make sure her trainer was comfortable with me coming out and training her mare while she was in his care. She assured me that he was ok but I was still nervous.
I got there and everything went smoothly. I had all 4 feet in the air and quiet in 10 minutes. The rest of the hour I spent teaching her and the trainer how to pick up this mare's feet and keep her where they wanted her. The guy was GREAT. He was an older guy but agreed with what I said and took instruction really well.
Before I left he showed me a few ponies he had for sale and asked for a stack of business cards so he could post it in his barn. He is going to talk to the driving club about having me do a clinic.
This was all great but I couldn't help over thinking it.
Are there trainers out there that don't teach basic horsemanship or don't KNOW basic horsemanship?? Are there FEI level riders out there that can't get a horse through Level 2??
When I work with a horse I work with the whole package. I don't just say ok...my goal is to get this horse to lope so ALL I am going to do is lope....
Does a dressage, driving, WP, racing, hunter, etc trainer not care what the horse does as long as their part of the training is covered? Do they not offer their clients help with problems if they come up but are outside the scope of their expertise?
Sorry for all the questions but I am just blown away that I was needed at a trainer's barn.
Saturday: One of the young girls at the barn owns a rotten paint pony. Last week she bathed all 4 of my horses and hand grazed them each for 30 minutes or so. I told her that she earned a lesson so we met at the barn around lunch time.
After I got her going I grabbed Andy. I was helping her bridle her ear shy pony so I had the bridle over the horn and my rope halter on Andy. I stayed on the ground to watch her first ride with a bit on this pony and decided that Andy could use some groundwork. He is very well behaved but I need to make sure he moves the way I want on the ground and can show what I am looking for at the clinic in June.
He seemed eager to try new things and while I found a few sticky places all in all he did GREAT. He had a super relaxed posture when we were done. I think I'm going to have to start doing this a few times a week before we ride. I think he had fun.
I did learn that he is MUCH more balanced than I thought. He can canter a 25' circle without pulling on the leadrope!! That is balance.
When I got on him and started showing my student what I wanted her to work on with her pony and that got Andy nice and loose. We worked on it, mostly at the walk for about 20 minutes before I turned her loose to do her own thing. Andy and I started loping our circles. It was the first time we had REALLY REAL circles. They weren't disfigured or scary, they were nice, round, and he was staying upright. Its amazing how you don't realize how bad it was until you feel how good it can be.
When we came off our last circle to the left I asked for a stop. He really drove his hind end down and for the first time EVER I got 11s out of him. Granted it was only about 2.5' but it was something. We did a rollback and loped our right circles and got another 2' slide. I was in HEAVEN. I can't wait to get him out Monday (today) and see how our circles look.
Sunday:
I got up early to drive to Advance, NC where I worked with a 18hh percheron mare. Her owner had her in training to be a driving horse but wasn't happy that they had to drug/stock or table the mare every time they went to trim her feet. She wanted me to come out and teach the mare to calmly pick up her feet and stand for the farrier. I told her to make sure her trainer was comfortable with me coming out and training her mare while she was in his care. She assured me that he was ok but I was still nervous.
I got there and everything went smoothly. I had all 4 feet in the air and quiet in 10 minutes. The rest of the hour I spent teaching her and the trainer how to pick up this mare's feet and keep her where they wanted her. The guy was GREAT. He was an older guy but agreed with what I said and took instruction really well.
Before I left he showed me a few ponies he had for sale and asked for a stack of business cards so he could post it in his barn. He is going to talk to the driving club about having me do a clinic.
This was all great but I couldn't help over thinking it.
Are there trainers out there that don't teach basic horsemanship or don't KNOW basic horsemanship?? Are there FEI level riders out there that can't get a horse through Level 2??
When I work with a horse I work with the whole package. I don't just say ok...my goal is to get this horse to lope so ALL I am going to do is lope....
Does a dressage, driving, WP, racing, hunter, etc trainer not care what the horse does as long as their part of the training is covered? Do they not offer their clients help with problems if they come up but are outside the scope of their expertise?
Sorry for all the questions but I am just blown away that I was needed at a trainer's barn.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Playing catch-up
I swear I rode last week, I've just been too busy to get the pictures off my camera and post about it. So for now I'll post without the pictures and then maybe tonight I'll have time to get them.Sunday (over a week ago now) Kate and I tag teamed so she could show me what she and Gayle had worked on. Some of it I was proud of myself for having already been doing, which was focusing on getting him to soften/yield his neck and have his nose follow my inside rein as the #1 step. Then once he's doing that reliably we check that he's on the outside aides by doing spiral in/out. She relayed Gayle's comment that people typically brace with the leg they're yielding towards. By softening my inside (or outside) leg Pro was able to step under and over much easier and there was a lot less resistance. Kate tried to have me do the pause at the halt where just relaxing sends him forward, but I failed at it. But in general he was pretty good. Kate was going to not ride since he was being so good, but I convinced her to do the trot work in the other direction. She demonstrated the halt pauses and they worked for her.
Tuesday (? It could have been Thurs, I forget what days I rode ;)) I pushed the limits some and expected him to stay soft and yielding in his neck during our spirals in and out. The spiraling went ok, but he really did not want to stay soft and supple during the turns on the haunches. I tried the pausing-halts some more and figured out that the key thing I'd been missing was maintaining contact. On Sunday when I'd halt I would relax my reins and then he'd sit there relaxed and stopped all day. But if I kept a feel of the reins, then he would stay 'alive' at the end of them and walk forward when I softened my seat. He was doing so well that we worked on cantering some and even did some flying lead changes on the figure-8. He didn't always get the cleanest changes (he's not as balanced yet at the canter so he's on his forehand a lot of the time) but he stayed calm and I was VERY proud of him that even after doing 7 or 8 changes in the center I could just use my seat to bring him down to the trot for a simple change.
Friday we were supposed to have a lesson, but Gayle was detained by a sick horse at the vet school, so I just rode on my own for awhile. He was pretty stiff and resistant in his neck so there was a lot more work getting him to yield reliably. He was going fairly well towards the end, but I didn't push it with any canter work.
Pics will be up soon hopefully! For the next two weeks Kate and I are holding down the fort while the barn manager is at the World Cup and then Rolex, so we'll see how much riding gets done after feeding, cleaning stalls, etc.
What A Day!
Last Friday was quite an experience. I took Jay to Rocking B in Hillsborough for his saddle fitting, and took Deuce along to meet his new owner there and save her 1.5 hours one way (3 total) off her trip. We met at 12:00, and my saddle fitting was at 1:00. I thought they would have Deuce loaded up and be gone by 1:00. Well, Deuce had other ideas, like NOT getting on their little 2h QH size trailer! I never dreamed he would be a problem because he has always loaded easily, BUT I have never tried to load him in anything but my trailer! We ended up taking Jay over to their trailer (as they still half heartedly tried to load Deuce) to do the saddle fitting. The appointment after me came early and he did them first while I was trying to help with Deuce, so that put us even later...I knew at this point that John and I were taking a trip to Halifax, NC, which is northeast of Rocky Mount! I felt bad, because if I had even thought that would happen we would have just delivered Deuce, and wouldn't have dragged Jay all that way!
The bad news continued as I found out that the saddle I have been using on Jay doesn't fit him all that well, and Dennis Brooks HATES working on that brand of saddle (Kieffer). So it would be $400+ to fix it! It doesn't work that well for me, either, because when I was learning to jump in it on Sam I would hit the pommel on a regular basis, which is a major ouch! It has only happened with Jay once so far, but I know if I keep jumping it is coming. Dennis pointed out that the anticipation of hitting the pommel would cause me to shift my weight back to the cantle more, and make that saddle even worse for Jay. It looks like I am going to need to get a new saddle since it would cost so much to fix the Kieffer for Jay, and it doesn't always work so well for me. I wasn't planning on having to do that!
My Germania is WAY too wide for Jay, which I knew. He checked my Wintec, and the tree in it is cracked in three places! The person who installed the last gullet plate for me didn't do it correctly (and I had someone else do it because I didn't trust myself!) I bought that saddle new at Triangle Horse Sports, and Dennis said I would need to get them to send it back for the repair/replacement. So, since we were now going to be going through Raleigh to deliver Deuce I called THS and let them know what was going on so they could get with Gilles and make sure that he could/would send it back since I don't have the receipt. (Why Dennis wouldn't do it, I don't know, as Gilles at THS said that he had sent them back for people who didn't buy from him. I wondered the same thing, actually.)
We finally got on the road to Halifax at around 3:00, I think. My head was spinning so much from everything that I really am not sure. The good news is that Deuce's new owners are really nice people, and he has a great home with them. They even bought him a new halter at Rocking B! At least I got to see their place this way, and see their other horse. Deuce is going to be fine. Jay was not happy when Deuce got off the trailer without him. So we hit the road back and didn't hang around too long. At this point I was much more concerned about Jay than Deuce, especially since I couldn't get Jay to drink any water.
We ran into all the rain and storms before we even got halfway home. That made for a rough return trip. Plus, it hit me about halfway home that Deuce was gone, so I was crying and driving through the rain. It was scary at one point when I hit a puddle of standing water that I could not see, and almost hydroplaned! Thankfully we were almost home at that point. We had left at 10:00 that morning, and got home at 11:10pm! We then stayed at the barn another hour with Jay, because I wanted to be as sure as I could that HE was going to be OK. What a long day!
I have already listed my Germania saddle and a bunch of pads, like Supracor's, that Dennis was equally unimpressed with, on eBay. Dennis did approve of my Thinline pad, and kept it to trim it some to work better for Jay. I have two Thinline inserts, and he will be using both for right now. Hopefully everything will sell well on eBay, and I will be listing more at some point, so that I can get something better for Jay soon! I am not listing my Kieffer quite yet since it the only thing I can ride Jay in. It isn't great for him, but it has been working since last November, and it won't be too much longer, I hope.
Whew! Sorry I wrote another book! I am still very stressed about all of this, but at least Deuce has a good home, and Jay has settled in just fine. I think a couple of mares in the adjoining pasture aren't too happy that Deuce is gone, though! LOL! To top all of this off, I discovered the next day that my trailer had leaked, and the carpet and everything in the front of my dressing room was soaked. I am not sure where it leaked, but I think it must have been around the windows. I haven't hauled much in the rain in the 10 years that I have had the trailer. I was thrilled to find that out, and I still need to call Gore about it to see if it is a known problem, and if they can/will do anything about it. I still have to put the dressing room back together, too!
I heard from Deuce's new owner Monday morning, and he and his new buddy Dusty did well over the weekend. Deuce decided he liked Dusty's stall better than the one that was intended for him, so he got to switch. That is SO Deuce. By Sunday afternoon they were more interested in grazing than anything else. I think Deuce was actually more interested in grazing all along!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Forward and Stop...
Last week I didn't get to ride as much as I wanted. I had scheduling conflicts and was trying to get ready to be gone for 3 days. I did get to hop on Andy Thursday evening though. Since I didn't have a ton of time and still needed to pack I brushed him, threw on his bridle and jumped on bareback. I haven't ridden him bareback yet and it was different...
I decided to start out our ride by taking a stroll around the property. When I left the cutting last Saturday Jim and I were talking and reflecting about our rides. I told him that I thought I needed to get Andy forward. That when he got upset he would get stuck(not know which way to go or be able to move freely) and that if I could get him out of that I think we would have a much better handle on the cow. He said I have it backwards. That I need to get him on his back end more and get him stopping harder, turning over his hocks, and really jamming down in order to get a better handle on my cow. I didn't respond because he has been doing it longer and I'm always ready to learn.
I was thinking about this as I was walking Andy. I think we are both right. Andy is like no horse I have ever ridden. I can hop on Apple or almost any other horse and feel completely at home bareback....Andy doesn't feel right. He is jittery with his muscles and OVER reactive to cues. I had him side passing and spinning with squeezing my butt muscles.... I thought it was cool until he got nervous about something and my squeeze to get him to step up got him moving but he was wiggly. I clenched to hold him where I wanted him and that made it worse. He uses his back like no other horse I have ever ridden. He didn't do anything bad but was lacking confidence and FORWARD.
We headed to the arena to work on it some more. I got him into a jog and could feel the subtle crookedness in him. He was forward but forward to the side a little...kind of like when your car needs an alignment. He was much better tracking left but tracking right he was almost completely counter bent. While it was much easier to fix bareback I wonder if it was a reaction to how I was sitting or if I am missing it THAT much when we ride with a saddle.
I was thinking about the conversation Jim and I had while fixing my crooked horse... When I said forward I think Jim heard go....To me they are different things. Forward is go with purpose and push and go is just that...go. A lot of horses go but aren't actually forward. In order to get him over his hocks and stopping and turning the way he should he has to be FORWARD. He has to step forward into his turns, he has to push off those feet, and he has to trust his rider.
I think Andy and Jim have given me a lot to think about. I already know where some of our mistakes are and where to start fixing them. I think MOST of the time Andy is really forward and with me but we need to transfer that over to when he gets upset.
Of course then I go off on...well how can I get him upset without taking him to Jim's and embarrassing myself?? I need to figure out if what I am working on is working or how to tweak it without an audience. I wish you could RENT a cow! LOL
What do you think forward is? Can you tell when your horse is going vs. being forward?
Hopefully I will have pictures for you tomorrow!
I decided to start out our ride by taking a stroll around the property. When I left the cutting last Saturday Jim and I were talking and reflecting about our rides. I told him that I thought I needed to get Andy forward. That when he got upset he would get stuck(not know which way to go or be able to move freely) and that if I could get him out of that I think we would have a much better handle on the cow. He said I have it backwards. That I need to get him on his back end more and get him stopping harder, turning over his hocks, and really jamming down in order to get a better handle on my cow. I didn't respond because he has been doing it longer and I'm always ready to learn.
I was thinking about this as I was walking Andy. I think we are both right. Andy is like no horse I have ever ridden. I can hop on Apple or almost any other horse and feel completely at home bareback....Andy doesn't feel right. He is jittery with his muscles and OVER reactive to cues. I had him side passing and spinning with squeezing my butt muscles.... I thought it was cool until he got nervous about something and my squeeze to get him to step up got him moving but he was wiggly. I clenched to hold him where I wanted him and that made it worse. He uses his back like no other horse I have ever ridden. He didn't do anything bad but was lacking confidence and FORWARD.
We headed to the arena to work on it some more. I got him into a jog and could feel the subtle crookedness in him. He was forward but forward to the side a little...kind of like when your car needs an alignment. He was much better tracking left but tracking right he was almost completely counter bent. While it was much easier to fix bareback I wonder if it was a reaction to how I was sitting or if I am missing it THAT much when we ride with a saddle.
I was thinking about the conversation Jim and I had while fixing my crooked horse... When I said forward I think Jim heard go....To me they are different things. Forward is go with purpose and push and go is just that...go. A lot of horses go but aren't actually forward. In order to get him over his hocks and stopping and turning the way he should he has to be FORWARD. He has to step forward into his turns, he has to push off those feet, and he has to trust his rider.
I think Andy and Jim have given me a lot to think about. I already know where some of our mistakes are and where to start fixing them. I think MOST of the time Andy is really forward and with me but we need to transfer that over to when he gets upset.
Of course then I go off on...well how can I get him upset without taking him to Jim's and embarrassing myself?? I need to figure out if what I am working on is working or how to tweak it without an audience. I wish you could RENT a cow! LOL
What do you think forward is? Can you tell when your horse is going vs. being forward?
Hopefully I will have pictures for you tomorrow!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Tango's spring break...
...has come to an end. Up until last Tuesday, he had over a week off while I tackled a crazy work schedule and his owner was laid up with an injury. Since then, I have worked with him a couple times in the round pen. My overall plan for the next several weeks is to stay in the round pen, making sure I end each ride with a wet saddle pad! For the moment, the focus is on concepts such as bending, suppling, tackling the false frame issues, and "forward does not = rush" -- ultimately I'm hoping he will get more balanced and less one-sided. Also a chance for me to pay close attention to my aids, which is always good in this lesson vacuum I've been in lately.
So, last Tuesday... because the ground was soggy and Tango was new to the round pen, I started off just hand-walking him in both directions so that I could get a feel for the footing and he could get the looky-lookiness out of his system. (In theory, anyway.) Then I hopped on and asked for several laps of nice forward walk and then trot with loopy reins in both directions to warm up his back and get the motor running. Then we began to work on suppling at the trot, which is where we tend to run into his false frame junk -- I'd ask for him to bend and give at the poll, and as soon as he responded correctly I'd give on the inside rein and send him forward from the leg. Ask, give, go. Ask, give, go. At the beginning of the ride he needed constant loud reminders, but as time went on I was able to use smaller and smaller corrections to keep him moving forward into contact. Both directions! I was so proud. We even did some canter work, and oh wow we both need lessons to help us there, but it was fun. Good Tango.
Saturday's ride was not quite so hot. He gave me a similar nice performance to the left, but tracking right he was a major drama llama. I actually had to halt for a moment to check my frustration. So we spent the majority of the ride "discussing" suppling to the right. And once I finally got him cooperating again, it was time to put this nice movement to work by asking him to give me transitions without falling apart. (He tends to treat a downward transition like an excuse to lose all energy, and the upward transitions like an excuse to get hollow.) But once I focused on asking him to really work through a transition between walk and trot, he picked up on it very quickly. I also played around with "cliff halts" -- neat idea, Kate!
Unfortunately I don't know when I'll get back out there this week, between rain and other plans. But I'm happy with our first 2 round pen efforts!
So, last Tuesday... because the ground was soggy and Tango was new to the round pen, I started off just hand-walking him in both directions so that I could get a feel for the footing and he could get the looky-lookiness out of his system. (In theory, anyway.) Then I hopped on and asked for several laps of nice forward walk and then trot with loopy reins in both directions to warm up his back and get the motor running. Then we began to work on suppling at the trot, which is where we tend to run into his false frame junk -- I'd ask for him to bend and give at the poll, and as soon as he responded correctly I'd give on the inside rein and send him forward from the leg. Ask, give, go. Ask, give, go. At the beginning of the ride he needed constant loud reminders, but as time went on I was able to use smaller and smaller corrections to keep him moving forward into contact. Both directions! I was so proud. We even did some canter work, and oh wow we both need lessons to help us there, but it was fun. Good Tango.
Saturday's ride was not quite so hot. He gave me a similar nice performance to the left, but tracking right he was a major drama llama. I actually had to halt for a moment to check my frustration. So we spent the majority of the ride "discussing" suppling to the right. And once I finally got him cooperating again, it was time to put this nice movement to work by asking him to give me transitions without falling apart. (He tends to treat a downward transition like an excuse to lose all energy, and the upward transitions like an excuse to get hollow.) But once I focused on asking him to really work through a transition between walk and trot, he picked up on it very quickly. I also played around with "cliff halts" -- neat idea, Kate!
Unfortunately I don't know when I'll get back out there this week, between rain and other plans. But I'm happy with our first 2 round pen efforts!
Skate was Full of Badness Last Week!
He was such a bad pony every day I rode! Its like he had totally forgotten everything we had learned over the past few months. He was SO concerned with everything outside the ring and it was all I could do to get him focused. I admit, I reverted to using force....I did small figured 8s at the sitting trot and severely overbent him to the inside to get him to quit trying to look at everything. It would work for a few strides and something else would catch his attention. I was so frustrated.
On Saturday morning, I pulled him out of the pasture and he seemed like he was going to be cooperative. Until! he got saddled up and taken into the arena, where he decided to begin the stupid's all over again. I pulled out my Clinton Anderson moves and got his looky butt moving around me with intent. Backing, circling, reversing. Whatever it took to focus him. Its a good thing I didn't have that long plastic stick CA uses or I would have beaten Skate I was so peeved. I then lunged him until he was begging for mercy. Only then did I hop on and the ride turned out to be pretty good, probably because he was exhausted.
I think he just needs his little butt worked harder. He'd been doing so well that I was letting him get away with a minimal workout...No MORE. Skate is back in boot camp. Tonight I have a lesson to continue his butt-kicking. Time for him to learn that I am in charge - not him or the other horses. I hate having to go back to these basics, but something has caused him to lose focus and forget to pay attention to only me. Weather? Mares in heat? Who cares ...
On Saturday morning, I pulled him out of the pasture and he seemed like he was going to be cooperative. Until! he got saddled up and taken into the arena, where he decided to begin the stupid's all over again. I pulled out my Clinton Anderson moves and got his looky butt moving around me with intent. Backing, circling, reversing. Whatever it took to focus him. Its a good thing I didn't have that long plastic stick CA uses or I would have beaten Skate I was so peeved. I then lunged him until he was begging for mercy. Only then did I hop on and the ride turned out to be pretty good, probably because he was exhausted.
I think he just needs his little butt worked harder. He'd been doing so well that I was letting him get away with a minimal workout...No MORE. Skate is back in boot camp. Tonight I have a lesson to continue his butt-kicking. Time for him to learn that I am in charge - not him or the other horses. I hate having to go back to these basics, but something has caused him to lose focus and forget to pay attention to only me. Weather? Mares in heat? Who cares ...
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